The UK’s largest corporations pay provider invoices by the day fee is due on fewer than one in seven events, new analysis reveals.
Companies using greater than 1,000 folks paid suppliers on time simply 15% of the time in March 2026, in comparison with 66% of smaller companies. Total, solely 61% of UK corporations paid suppliers on time, in accordance with the report by Dun & Bradstreet.
The research, primarily based on evaluation of 448,000 companies, mentioned the findings spotlight “a widening imbalance throughout UK provide chains, with many smaller companies successfully carrying the working capital burden for his or her largest prospects”.
This results in elevated publicity to monetary stress for SMEs, mirrored in enterprise failure charges. UK insolvencies reached 5,295 within the first quarter of 2026, remaining on the highest sustained interval of elevated enterprise failures that has persevered for greater than three years.
Regionally, companies in London have been worst for late fee as a consequence of paying suppliers on time 54% of the time. Yorkshire was the very best area at 66%.
Dun & Bradstreet’s Ravi Sidhu mentioned:
“Late fee has been a persistent problem for UK companies for years, and the information suggests the issue runs deeper than many recognize. Cost efficiency doesn’t enhance as companies develop. Smaller suppliers are routinely absorbing cashflow strain on behalf of their largest prospects, and over time that pressure accumulates.
“What our knowledge makes clear is that companies can’t afford to commerce on belief alone. Getting access to well timed, correct knowledge on the fee behaviour and monetary well being of your counterparties is more and more important to creating assured, knowledgeable credit score choices.”
The federal government’s Business Funds Invoice, which can ship laws geared toward tackling late fee, is at present being debated in Parliament.
The Invoice contains stronger powers for the Small Enterprise Commissioner to analyze, adjudicate
There can even be a 60-day cap on fee phrases for giant corporations, obligatory curiosity on late funds, and motion to ban the observe of retentions in building.
Different modifications are necessities in secondary laws for giant corporations to publicly report the quantity of curiosity they’ve paid and the curiosity they owe, and a requirement for boards or audit committees of persistently late-paying giant corporations to publish commentary on why their fee efficiency is poor and actions they’re taking to repair it.
